The author of the WSJ article admitted that he has never attended an AA meeting. Though he did a bit of reading, he still did not understand how the term “powerless” is used within the AA context. Anonymity is another of the often misunderstood concepts used in the AA context. The meaning has a spiritual connotation. It’s even referred to as a “spiritual foundation” within AA literature. It takes a while for people to understand how it’s used. It’s another one of those cases where you have to keep an open mind to get it. Nevertheless the author does not seem to have an ax to grind with AA, so perhaps someday he will.